2014 NFL mock draft: Bengals select Darqueze Dennard

With the 24th pick in Pride Of Detroit's 2014 NFL mock draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard. Juhsayngul is serving as the Bengals' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.

With Darqueze Dennard falling to the final third of Round 1, Cincinnati is in terrific position to kick-start the imminent rebuilding of their cornerback corps. The starting group consists of a mix of aging and soon-to-be-free-agent veterans in Leon Hall, Adam "Pacman" Jones and Terence Newman. The Bengals have little in the way of developing talent, although Dre Kirkpatrick could emerge as a starter in the coming season. With a group of starters already in place, Dennard has room to break ahead of the pack in Cincinnati, but they will not need to force him into a starting role before he's ready.

He is a physical-playing corner who loves to get his hands on his receiver in man to man. What he lacks in speed, he makes up for with his awareness and intuition. He is widely considered one of the top two cornerbacks in this draft class, and some scouts say he's the best this year. If he works to translate his ability to finish plays the way he did at Michigan State to the lightning-fast pro game, Dennard should be a reliable defender for the Bengals for years to come.

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Check out the 2014 POD Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.